


man on a mission

by littleliefe



Series: ready steady go [2]
Category: WTFock | Skam (Belgium)
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Crack, Idiots in Love, M/M, Matchmaking, Spies & Secret Agents, THERE’S ONLY ONE BED, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:14:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27820564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleliefe/pseuds/littleliefe
Summary: The agency is under attack but Sander is just thirsty for Robbe. On the other hand, the rest of the agency is more concerned about helping Sander ask Robbe out for dinner.
Relationships: Sander Driesen/Robbe IJzermans
Series: ready steady go [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035795
Comments: 12
Kudos: 85





	man on a mission

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to get this out in time for sobbe’s anniversary but I lost a lot of sleep from waiting for that anniversary surprise. 🥲
> 
> Thank you for the comments and kudos in the previous story. I had to re-update the series into separate works because this came out at 16K words. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this new installment. I promise there’s a plot, contrary to the crack summary. 😏
> 
> tw: violence, mentions of death, and Charles Munier

Sander takes a deep breath as he pauses infront of the book store. Today is the day - well actually, night because it’s already past seven in the evening - tonight is when he’ll ask Robbe out. 

To be fair, it’s not like Sander hasn’t been trying. He’s been dropping extremely obvious hints here and there but for some reason, his words just seem to fly past Robbe, without ever hitting the mark. So Sander decided he’s going to be completely straightforward and ask Robbe out for dinner. With a determined huff, Sander pulls open the door and marches into the small book store. 

The old book store sits in the middle of Antwerp’s busiest districts. It’s a quaint shop which has stood the test of time, with a history dating back to before the first World War. New businesses have been trying to buy the small place for quite some time now, reasoning with the owner that paperback books are a thing of the past. But the owner, Mr Maes, would have nothing to do with new businesses. He was simply the picture of a humble, old man trying to maintain his family’s business. 

Inside the bookstore, Sander goes straight to the counter which is located at the back of the shop. He walks past a group of college girls whose eyes follow his every movement. It seems to be a curious thing to see a handsome man with bleach blonde hair and a leather jacket to be entering this old place. 

Sander knocks on the counter thrice to catch the attention of the shop employee. 

“Can I help you?” A tall, slender man with round glasses comes to ask Sander.

“Yes, do you know what’s the title of the book from which the quote, ‘Sanity is not statistical’, comes from?” Sander asks with a grin. 

The man simply nods, face as stoic like a stone carving. “If you would follow me to the back, I’m sure Mr Maes can help you.” He replies, motioning for Sander to follow him to the back room.

The man leads Sander to the back room which is actually a tea room where an old man sits behind a large oak table, sipping tea while reading a novel. After allowing Sander inside, the man leaves without a word. 

Sander snorts as he mutters, “Not even a crack.”

The old man laughs heartily as he stands up to greet Sander. “You’re a bit late. Trying to catch someone?” He asks with a knowing smile.

Sander smiles, stepping close to the old man to clasp the latter’s hand in a warm handshake. “Yes, he’s still here?” Sander asks.

The old man nods, eyes twinkling and motioning towards a shelf. “You know what to do.”

Sander nods, moving towards the book shelf and positioning his head by a familiar book to allow the security system to scan his eyes. With a low hum, the book shelf opens to reveal a secret elevator. 

Sander steps in and presses his finger against another scanner to allow him to select B3 as his destination. “Have a good evening, Mr Maes!” Sander calls out with a wave.

“Good luck with him tonight!” Mr Maes responds with a laugh, right before the doors closed.

Sander chuckles at the old man’s comment as the elevator moves down with a hum. 

Not even a minute later, the doors open to reveal a brightly lit, glass corridor. Sander steps out to the corridor before he takes a pause to take a deep breath. “You can do this, Sander.” He whispers to himself before walking, with a resolute look on his face. 

Just as he reaches the entrance, the metal doors opens to reveal Yasmina, out of her lab coat and ready to go home.

Sander waves his hand, with an awkward smile on his face. 

Yasmina simply rolls her eyes, knowing what Sander’s intention was. “He’s packing to head home so you better hurry if you want to get dinner with him. He’s craving for some kebabs though, not sure if that’s how you're planning your first date.” Yasmina quietly says, moving past Sander. “Bye and good luck.” 

“Yeah, thanks. Have a safe trip home.” Sander replies quickly to which Yasmina waves at him, without a glance back.

Sander quickly steps in the laboratory, eyes immediately finding Robbe who’s packing things in his bag by his desk. His lips automatically turn up into a smile, just at the sight of the brunette.

As Sander walks closer, Robbe turns to shrug off his lab coat, jumping at the sight of Sander. “You surprised me, didn’t hear you come in. _Again_.” Robbe says, lips quirking to a lovely smile which makes angels sing in Sander’s head. 

Sander flashes a charming grin. “Heading home?”

Robbe glances at his bag before looking at Sander. “Uh yeah. But if you need something, I can give you a hand?”

(In his mind, Sander’s already holding Robbe’s hand as they walk through the night bazaars in winter, tasting warm wine and sharing candied apples.)

“I came to ask you something actually.” Sander says, getting his mind back on the game and walking closer to Robbe.

Robbe blinks, confused. “Did something happen with the new gun I gave you?”

“No, it’s not that.” Sander replies nervously, hands starting to sweat as he stops right infront of Robbe.

Sander pauses to calm the mini Sanders running amok in his brain at their close proximity. From this distance, he can see the pretty flush gracing Robbe’s cheeks. Those beautiful brown eyes, wide with innocence. And that smile. Sander can wax poetry about Robbe’s smile (and he hasn’t even kissed Robbe yet).

“What is it, Sander?” Robbe asks softly, breaking Sander from his trance.

“It’s just that you’re so—.” Sander doesn’t get to finish his sentence as he and Robbe get thrown to the side by a loud explosion, coming from the other side of the room.

Sander coughs as grimaces, rolling over and opening his eyes to dust and smoke. His hearing is muffled by a ringing sound as he struggles to get his bearings together. Panic starts to claw in his stomach as he realises who he was with - _Robbe_. 

Sander quickly turns on his side and mentally breathes in a sigh of relief as he finds Robbe in a similar disposition as him and rubbing at his ears. He crawls over to Robbe and gently tugs at the other’s arm to grab his attention.

Robbe’s eyes widen in realisation and Sander can see him mouthing, “Are you okay?”

Sander signs at Robbe that he’s okay and that they should lay low and check what the situation is. 

Before Robbe can respond, an arm grabs at Sander and starts choking him. Sander’s spy training automatically kicks in and he manages to elbow his attacker’s stomach and break free from his hold. As soon as he’s free, Sander immediately grabs the chair and slams it against his attacker’s head. 

As his attacker falls to the floor, Sander doesn’t have a minute to react as shots start firing from the other side of the room. _Fuck_ , he thinks. 

Suddenly, he is quite literally pushed to safety on the floor, behind a metal table that had toppled over. Robbe holds Sander down on the floor (and maybe uses him as leverage) as he starts shooting back at their assailants. 

(Here’s the thing. Sander’s a spy so he’s naturally wired to check out ~~stalk~~ people that he’s interested ~~love with~~ in. From the time he briefly met him during Robbe’s trainee period, he’s been ~~obsessed~~ eager to know more about the brown-eyed beauty. He knows that Robbe was at the top of his spy training class, even better at Jens who is one of their best agents. He was at the top, not just intellectually-speaking, but also in physical training. From Sander’s quick ~~intense, bordering deep web~~ research, he knows that Robbe holds one of the best shooting records. He doesn’t know why Robbe opted to stay in the lab - he hopes Robbe can tell him the reason sometime soon. But none of his research could’ve prepared him for this moment. They’re in this life or death situation but all Sander can think of is how he might’ve metaphorically-speaking, dropped his panties from how hot Robbe is at this exact moment. He even thinks he’s in some sort of romance movie as he feels like he’s watching everything move in slow motion. With bullets swishing by and Robbe’s soft curls flying in motion.) 

“Sander, are you okay?!” Robbe asks frantically, dropping to next to Sander, behind the table. 

Sander blinks, waking up from his daydream. “Yes. Sorry, I might’ve hit my head too hard.”

Robbe frowns, moving his hand to gently feel the back of Sander’s head. “I should be the one who’s sorry. I panicked and pushed you too hard when the shots started firing.”

(Inwardly, Sander sighs like a lovesick fool.)

“I think I got most of them but we probably need to get out of here.” Robbe says, moving up carefully, eyes alert at where the shots were being fired.

Sander carefully stands and checks at the now open wall from where the explosion came from. He needs to get his head straight if he doesn’t want to get either of them killed. 

“Is there another exit around here?” Sander asks as Robbe passes by him to get to the computer. 

Robbe hums in affirmation as he tries to get his computer to turn on. Sander gives him some space as he looks around to examine the wreckage. The entrance to the laboratory had locked down from the other side - one of the security measures installed in the building to prevent unwanted intrusion from attacks. 

Sander walks over to the attacker who grabbed him to check his clothing. The man is wearing a nondescript black uniform but Sander knows there’s bound to be a clue on who they are. He kneels down to check the man’s pockets which are empty. Sander tugs on the man’s gun and that’s where Sander finds the small emblem, engraved at the base of the gun.

Sander snorts as these crime organisations can’t seem to stop marking things as theirs. It’s a simple but familiar insignia - the letters C and M, intertwined in a beautiful script with a snake in the middle. Quite cliche with the snake, Sander thinks, but that’s what these arms dealers are in reality. 

Sander takes a photo of the gun as evidence before walking back to Robbe. “We better hurry.” Sander says, placing the gun beside Robbe.

Robbe hardly glances at the gun as his fingers fly across the keyboard. “Just give me a minute. If they came straight to the lab, they’re after the weapons we’re developing her so I just need to secure them.”

Sander nods in understanding. “Do you have any we can take?”

A wall slides open revealing a shelf of cases that Sander is highly familiar with. Sander immediately goes over to grab two cases, briefly checking the contents of each case. He grabs a small gun in one of the cases and secures it in his jeans. 

Satisfied that both cases contained guns, explosives, tranquillisers and other spy paraphernalia, Sander swipes his hand on the control system to lock the shelf. 

“Ok, done.” Robbe announces just as an entire wall slides down to the floor to reveal a garage, hiding a sleek, black sports car. He grabs his bag which has fallen to the floor and signals with a shrug of his shoulder and bright grin for Sander to follow.

Sander lets a low whistle at the sight as he follows Robbe into the garage. “When I asked for another exit, I meant like a fire escape. Not your batmobile.” 

Robbe smiles proudly as he heads over to the driver’s door, unlocking the car with a quick press against the door handle. “I’d let you drive but only Yasmina’s and my biometrics are loaded into the system.”

Before Sander could retort with a witty comeback, another explosion racks through the room, followed by the sound of loud voices. 

“Shit, they’re here.” Sander says as he and Robbe both move quickly to slide into the car. Sander throws the cases to the back seat as Robbe starts the car, hands quickly swiping through the dashboard’s systems. The group of intruders soon finds them and starts shooting at the bullet proof car. 

“What are you doing?” Sander asks as he himself goes through the car, checking for where the weapons are located, unphased as bullets rain on them. 

“I’m setting up the lab to explode in 3 minutes. The walls of the lab are set up to endure all sorts of explosions so whatever technology we have won’t be affected.” Robbe explains, not even glancing at Sander as he scans his palm against the dashboard. 

Sander pauses at that. “Well, can this car endure that explosion?” 

“Well, no. Yasmina and I haven’t gotten to that part for the car yet.” Robbe shrugs, nonchalant as if he just wasn’t telling that he and Sander could die from an explosion. 

“How do we get out then?” Sander asks, as he leans back, waiting for another explosion.

(Outside, the group of intruders continue shooting at them with some confused, as to why two spies seem to be having a marital discussion while in the middle of an attack mission.)

“Well through the hole they made.” Robbe responds, eyes wide and confused as if that was the obvious answer. 

Without waiting for Sander’s response, Robbe revs the car and they speed through the group of intruders who jump out of the way. Sander bumps his head against the window as Robbe makes a sharp turn. “Better wear your seatbelt, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.” Robbe says, eyes focused as he drives straight towards the hole in the wall.

Sander pulls on the seatbelt, locking himself in his seat as Robbe drives through the wreckage. He hears shouting and bullets as the group they left behind runs after them. 

( _Now_ isn’t the time to be daydreaming again but _wow_. Sander really can’t help himself as he allows himself to watch Robbe shamelessly. Sander can hear the sound of an explosion from his side but all Sander can focus on is how handsome Robbe looks, all focused and determined to get them both out of harm's way. It’s a sticky situation but Sander is more than happy to be sticky with Robbe anyway. ~~Well, they also could be sticky in other ways at another place and time preferably in Sander’s bed tonight. But that’s a discussion for another time.~~ )

With Robbe’s driving skills, the car is out of the hole and into the parking lot of the building next to the bookstore. As expected, another enemy group is waiting to ambush but Robbe quickly drives past them towards the exit ramp. 

Their enemies are quick to pursue them and Sander mutters a curse as he sees a bazooka being aimed at them from the car. He pulls the weapon case from the back seat to pull a larger gun to use against the men before they fire at them. “They’re getting ready to fire a missile at us.” He tells Robbe. “They’re not going to risk firing it at us while we’re underground because the building can collapse.”

“You better get them before we reach the main street then.” Robbe responds with a wicked smile on his face (that makes Sander inwardly swoon at the sight of another side of Robbe.) 

“Already on it, cutie.” Sander says, as locks a circular tube to a gun that looks like a tech from the MIB movies. 

As their car makes a smooth turn out of the ramp, Sander quickly slips out of the window and is met by badly aimed shots. He fixes his aim at the tire of the car following them and presses the trigger which sends a blast that makes the car fly sideways, effectively blocking other cars in pursuit from chasing after them.

Robbe cheers as Sander sits back in and secures his seatbelt. “You were so cool!” Robbe exclaims, a wide smile is on his face as he claps on Sander’s shoulder, without taking his eyes off the road. 

“Wouldn’t have done it without you. You’re quite the James Bond, huh?” Sander replies teasingly, eyes following the tell-tale blush bloom on Robbe’s cheeks. 

—

Robbe continues driving them past the streets of Antwerp. Continues driving even as buildings turn to empty fields. Sander doesn’t show it but, he’s a bit miffed for two reasons. First, his plans of asking Robbe out for dinner went down the drain - so much for all the good luck. 

(In all honesty, Sander hasn’t completely given up on dinner. He’s been on the lookout for a country diner or restaurant but it’s a bit difficult considering they haven’t seen anything for the past hour and it’s getting late.) 

And second, he’s always imagined going on a drive with Robbe, whether it’s a night drive or a drive down to the countryside. He certainly never wanted his first drive with Robbe to be caused by an attack on the agency. 

(Sometime after their first date, Sander had planned to take Robbe out on a weekend date. They would drive to a farm in Ardennes. Along the way, they would stop over some small towns and try the local food. Maybe do some wine tasting at family-owned vineyards. Waste their time watching cows eat grass.)

Robbe’s been in a contemplative mood after they left Antwerp so Sander’s been respectful of the comfortable silence between them. It’s given him time to observe how the headlight cast a beautiful glow on Robbe, dark shadows highlighting the other’s sharp jaw. Sander’s hands itch for his drawing pencils and the familiar weight of his analog camera - anything that would allow him to immortalise Robbe’s beauty in this light.

A beeping sound disturbs the quiet, bringing Sander’s attention to the dashboard where there’s an incoming call from an unknown number. Robbe chances a glance at Sander to which he responds with a shrug to answer the call. “It’s probably the agency.” Sander explains.

Robbe nods before pressing on the accept button. 

“Hello?” Yasmina’s voice crackles through the car as her face appears on the dashboard’s screen.

“Yasmina?” Robbe asks, eyebrows raising.

“Oh good, you’re safe.” Yasmina responds, relief palpable through the call. “Is that Sander with you?”

“Yeah, Sander’s here with me.” Robbe responds, glancing back at Sander. 

“Yeah, Robbe and I managed to get out.” Sander continues. 

A pause. “Robbe and Sander are together.” Yasmina announces to whoever is with her. There’s a sound of commotion and rustling on the other side of the line before Mr Maes appears behind Yasmina. “Where are you now?” Yasmina asks.

“We’re a few kilometres to Leuven.” Robbe replies. “Is everyone okay? We saw some smoke coming from the bookstore.”

“Yes, everyone’s safe. There were a few guys who tried to come through the back door when I was leaving. Marcus and I managed to hold them off but they caused a small fire. No civilians were hurt and we told the police that it was an attempted burglary. Mr Maes will smoothen any loose threads in the morning.” Yasmina explains. “Where are you planning on going?” Yasmina asks.

Sander blinks at the question, realising he and Robbe didn’t even talk about where they’re going. 

“Umm, at the house in Ardennes?” Robbe asks sheepishly.

A deep chuckle is heard through the call. “I’m happy to hear that you’re both safe, Robbe and Sander. Seems like the attack didn’t give you any injuries?” Mr Maes asks.

“Yeah, Robbe saved me several times today.” Sander says. 

“I’m sure he did. Make a turn to Brussels, Robbe. Head over to Milan’s, we’ll let him know you’re on the way.” Mr Maes replies, humour lacing through his words. “We’ll touch base tomorrow on what’s the plan after everyone’s gotten some rest.”

“Roger that, boss.” Sander replies, on behalf of Robbe. 

“Drive safely. And Sander, try to take Robbe to a nice restaurant for dinner. He saved your life after all.” Mr Maes says cheekily with a wink before the call ends and the screen blacks out. 

Sander feels blood rush to his face at his mentor’s teasing. “Umm,” Sander starts, glancing nervously at Robbe who seems to have tightened his hold on the steering wheel. “Do you want to get some kebabs when we get to Brussels? I know a great place that serves them.” Sander asks stupidly. 

“Ah yeah, that would be great! I was craving kebabs today actually.” Robbe replies, laughing awkwardly. 

(Sander wants to bang his head against the window repeatedly. Mr Maes already set things up for him and the best thing he could think of was kebabs. _Not even an actual dinner date but, a take out._ ) 

—

After getting kebabs to go, Robbe drives them to Milan’s place which was a few blocks away from the Palais Royal.

Milan is an agent based in Brussels, serving as the agency’s key contact and liaison officer to the EU. In Brussels, the agency owns the small building where Milan is operating the agency’s front which is a vintage clothing shop. Unlike the main office in Antwerp which has three underground floors, the Brussels office functions as a quick stop for collecting and sharing intel. In the case of other agents, “Casa Milan”, as everyone fondly calls it, is a place for small parties or relaxation. While everyone considers Mr Maes as the grandfather of the organisation, Milan is definitely the fun uncle. 

“You know, Milan was actually my training officer.” Robbe shares out of the blue, as they stop at a red light. 

“And how was he? I can imagine that you had a lot of fun back then.” Sander replies with a cheeky grin. 

Robbe laughs, dimples appearing with the wide smile spreading across his face. “Yeah, he used to start a lot of the parties back then. The first party, Jens and I were a bit rattled because he woke us up in the middle of the night to drag us to the forest. We thought it was some sort of hazing and that we had to bury dead bodies. When we got to the forest, there was a raging party - with a disco ball!” Robbe shares, one hand waving animatedly.

Sander smiles fondly, eyes soft. “Hmm, I would’ve loved to have been there. Maybe we could’ve danced the night away.” He says, no filter on his emotions, eyes locked on Robbe. 

Robbe blushes prettily as he starts driving again. “I was really thin and small back then. I’m not sure you would’ve seen me.” 

Sander chuckles, the sound reverberating in the car. “I think I would’ve found you, even if the moonlight was the only thing lighting up the place. Even if you were hiding from me, face covered up in a mask, I would’ve seen you.” Sander slowly and sincerely says.

Robbe blinks as the car drives to a slow halt, mouth forming a rounded shape which Sander wants to kiss deeply. “What did you say?”

Before Sander could respond, a loud honk disturbs them, signalling them to start driving. 

_Fuck_. Sander thinks as Robbe scrambles to start driving again, conversation temporarily forgotten. 

Within a few minutes, they arrive at Milan’s place with Robbe finding the entrance to the secret garage. After parking the car safely and removing his seatbelt, Robbe pauses looking at Sander, seemingly trying to find his words. 

“Umm, I think we should—“ Robbe says just as Sander starts saying, “Robbe, I—.” Both pause before laughing, easing the tension in the air. 

“You go first.” Robbe says softly, eyes still twinkling in mirth. 

Sander sighs with a smile, leaning against his seat looking straight at Robbe. “I was going to say—.” 

“Robbe!” A familiar voice calls out, interrupting Sander (yet again!). 

Robbe blinks and they both look forward to find Milan, with a wide, welcoming smile on his face and hands on his hips. Robbe turns to Sander, waiting for him to say something to which Sander sighs. “It’s nothing, let’s go greet Milan.” 

“Yeah.” Robbe replies as he grabs their kebabs and his bag from the back seat before getting out of the car. Sander pauses for a second to calm his emotions before getting the cases and getting out of the car as well. He smiles as Milan pulls Robbe for a quick hug before bustling around the younger man, inspecting the other’s face and body like a mother hen. 

(Sander doesn’t know if he imagined it but, he thinks Robbe’s face faltered in disappointment, the same way his heart did.)

—

“Come in, come in! Welcome to Casa Milan!” Milan says proudly, waving an arm in welcome while using his other hand to pull Robbe into the apartment with Sander following closely behind. Milan lives on the top floor of three-story building while the second floor functions as an office for the agency. 

“Make sure to remove those shoes! You’re all covered in dust and grime - wouldn’t want to get those in the carpet.” Milan continues, letting Robbe go so that he can remove his shoes. As Robbe bends down to untie his shoes, he rolls his eyes in an exasperated but fond manner at Sander who is also bent down to remove his boots. 

“I know you’re rolling your eyes at me, IJzermans. Mind your manners.” Milan says with a tut. 

Sander smirks at Robbe before they both stand up to face Milan, both with charming smiles on their faces. 

Milan sighs defeatedly. “Have you had dinner?” He asks, looking straight at Sander with a raised eyebrow. 

“Umm, we got kebabs right before we came here.” Robbe says, raising the bag of kebabs for Milan to see. 

“Kebabs? Really?” Milan asks, grabbing the bag before looking at Sander with a silent question that clearly states - _that’s the best you could do?_

Sander shrugs, widening his eyes in silent explanation while Robbe looks at both of them in question. 

Milan sighs in discontent. “Well, come on then. Kitchen’s this way. Make sure to wash your hands before you eat.” He says, talking to the two men like they’re children, leading the way to the kitchen. 

Robbe shakes his head at Milan’s antics, sharing a secret smile with Sander before following the older man to the kitchen.

After washing their hands, the two took their seats at the small table where Milan had laid out their kebabs. Milan grabs a bottle of red wine and places three glasses on the table before sitting with the boys who have started eating. 

“So care to tell me what happened?” Milan asks while pouring wine in the glasses.

Sander nods, “Well, the short version is a bomb exploded in the lab while Robbe and I were talking. A group came in and tried to kill us but Robbe managed to get them first. We took the car and got away before the lab exploded.” 

Milan hums in understanding while he takes a sip of his wine. “Do we have any clue as to who did it?”

Sander shrugs, “Yeah, Charles Munier had his name all over it.” 

Robbe blinks at assumption, considering they didn’t talk about it in the car. “Is he the son of Etienne Munier? Aren’t the Munier family really good at planning their exploits? They’re not known for being this messy.”

Sander smiles, impressed at Robbe’s knowledge. “Yeah, but this Charles has a bit of an insecurity complex and he’s not known for being a smart cookie. I presume he did that to impress ‘daddy’.” 

Milan snorts, “I highly doubt ‘daddy’ would be impressed with him leaving all these clues that lead back to the family. But in any case, it’s good news for us.”

“Yeah, we’ve been trying to pin down the Munier family for so many crimes but they’ve been so good at cleaning up. We should send a thank you gift to Charles for helping us out.” Sander agrees with a laugh, raising his glass for a toast. 

“I’m sure you’ll be sending him quite a gift.” Robbe laughingly adds as he and Milan partake in the toast.

“Well, of course I’m not going to let him mess with you a second time, cutie. I know you can take him on your own but give me a chance at impressing you.” Sander says teasingly, with a wink. 

Robbe’s lips drop open as the familiar blush colors his cheeks while Sander just rests his hand on his cheek as he rests his elbow on the table. Eyes completely focused on Robbe as his smile shifts from teasing to fondness.

(In the background, Milan chokes on his wine, preventing to laugh at Sander’s flirty statement. He’s torn between wanting to walk off from being treated as a forgotten third wheel to just slamming Robbe’s and Sander’s lips together just so they can finally end whatever courting ritual they have.) 

—

“I’ve prepared this room for both of you to share so play nicely, okay?” Milan states as he opens the door to a quaint room in the apartment. 

Sander bumps into Robbe who stops at the door. Confused at the other’s reaction, he peeks from behind Robbe’s shoulder and _oh, would you look at that, there’s only one bed_. 

“You only prepared one room?” Robbe squeaks out, voice tiny as a mouse. “Don’t you have three rooms in this apartment?”

“Well, yeah Robbe. But remember, you guys sent me a bunch of tech just the other day. I had to put them in the other room so I could keep them safe.” Milan explains nonchalantly. 

Behind Robbe, Sander pouts a little. He’s more than okay with sharing the room but if Robbe’s going to be more comfortable, he’s okay with sleeping on the living room’s couch. “I can sleep on the couch.” He says. 

Robbe jumps at Sander’s statement. “What, no! You can sleep here and I can sleep on the couch.” 

Before Sander can reply, Milan steps in. “What nonsense are you both spouting? No one’s sleeping on the couch. The bed’s big enough for both of you. Besides, you both had a rough night. You need to rest on a proper bed.”

“Milan—.” Robbe starts but Milan cuts him off with a tutting sound. 

“No buts, Robbe. If I find either of you sleeping on the couch, or worse on the floor, I’m gonna shave both of your hairs.” Milan says with a clap of finality and a pointed look at Robbe. 

“Okay.” Robbe dutifully says, meek as a kitten. 

“Great! Do you have any questions, Sander?” Milan asks, giving Sander a look to not mess things up. Again.

“No, we’re all good.” Sander says, glancing at Robbe who has moved on to drop his bag by the window. 

“Ok, there are some spare clothes in the dresser so you can change out of those dirty clothes. Bathroom’s through that door - there are some clean towels and toothbrushes in there. My room’s at the end of the corridor so just knock if you need anything.” Milan says cheerily. “Have a good night!” 

“Good night, Milan. And thanks.” Robbe says, before turning back to look through his bag.

Milan gives both of them a final smile, mouthing ‘behave and good luck’ at Sander before leaving.

Sander breathes out a sigh, waving at Milan before shutting the door gently. “So do you want to take a bath first?” Sander asks as he turns toward Robbe with a bright expression.

Robbe looks at him, looking innocent and cute as a button. “Umm, you can go ahead first. I just need to make a call.” 

Sander nods, moving towards the dresser. “I’ve stayed here a few times so I have some spare clothes.” He says as he starts digging through the dresser. “I can lend you some of my stuff or you can choose some others here.” He offers, as he pulls out a black shirt to show Robbe. 

Robbe nods eagerly, “Thanks, I’d love to wear your clothes. Sorry, I mean—.” 

Sander chuckles, cutting him off. “No worries, here you go.” He says, throwing the shirt at Robbe. “Do you want some sweats too?”

“Ah, it’s okay. I don’t usually wear sweats when I sleep.” Robbe replies easily before his eyes widen. “But I can wear them to bed, if you want?” 

Sander blinks at the intimate piece of information, heat pooling at his stomach. He quickly turns back to the dresser to calm himself down. “Yeah, ah. You can wear whatever you want. I’m not that sensitive.” 

He starts pulling out some of his clothes to wear to bed before grabbing a pack of unopened underwear. He pulls one out for himself before turning to throw the pack at Robbe - which the other easily catches. “Those are clean underwear, if you want. Milan stockpiles on them for surprise visitors, if you know what I mean.” Sander explains. 

Robbe giggles. “I lived with him briefly so I’m far too aware about what you mean.” He replies with a nostalgic smile on his face (which sends Sander’s heart bu-dump, bu-dump.) 

“Yeah, so I’ll take a shower first.” Sander smiles, dropping his spare clothes on the bed before walking backward to the bathroom. 

In the bathroom, Sander does his breathing exercise as he takes off his clothes. If he doesn’t want to scare Robbe away, he’s gonna need to calm down. 

After taking a quick and not so relaxing shower, Sander steps out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist. He hears Robbe speaking with someone on the phone as he dries his hair with another towel. He hears something clatter to the floor and his eyes find Robbe’s on the phone. His eyes follow the trail up Robbe’s legs to find the other man’s wide brown eyes looking straight at him. 

Robbe scrambles to pick up his phone, muttering a quick “I’ll call you tomorrow. Good night, mama.” He stands up straight, hands fidgeting, nervous from being caught looking at Sander.

Sander flashes a charming smile, pleased at getting such a reaction from Robbe because it must mean something. “Shower’s all yours.” He smoothly says, shrugging his shoulder in the direction of the bathroom. 

Robbe nods frantically. “Yeah, ah just let me - ah put my phone down.” He stammers, dropping his phone on the desk by the window. He robotically walks toward the bathroom before Sander calls out at him again. 

“Wait, let me grab my clothes. I want to put them in the washer.” Sander says, swiftly moving past Robbe to get to the bathroom for his clothes. 

“I can put yours in with mine.” Sander offers as he steps out of the bathroom. 

Robbe blinks, “Yeah, ah thanks.” Without a thought in mind, Robbe quickly removes his pants and his socks. And with one swift movement, Sander’s throat dries up as Robbe pulls off his shirt to reveal sharp collarbones and tightly packed abs. Sander wills his hands to hold tightly onto his own clothes as they twitch with the strong desire to scratch his nails against Robbe’s abs. Robbe, who has remained oblivious to Sander’s change in demeanor, hands over his clothes with a small smile and ‘thanks’ to Sander which the blonde accepts wordlessly.

With Sander’s continued silence, Robbe blinks, confused by Sander’s lack of movement and somewhat intense focus on his stomach area. He looks down, wondering at what Sander is looking at exactly. “Oh, ah you can throw in my underwear too, if that’s okay.” Robbe says, quickly moving down to take off his boxer briefs.

“Yeah.” Sander manages to croak out as his eyes follow Robbe’s movement - just centimetres away from him. 

(It took Robbe only a few seconds to remove his underwear and daintily hand it over to Sander. But for Sander, that entire moment felt like a lifetime - with Robbe moving in slow motion, his back muscles rippling like water, and his face only centimetres away from Sander’s lower regions. Sander’s not religious but in that moment, he desperately prayed for nothing to go up.) 

—

After Robbe enters the bathroom, Sander does another breathing exercise which somehow manages to calm his libido down. He puts on his clothes and heads over to the laundry area to put his and Robbe’s clothes in the washer. 

Needing a glass of water after that exchange, Sander heads to the kitchen where he is met with a smirking Milan. 

“So, any progress?” Milan curiously whispers, peeking at the hallway to make sure Robbe doesn’t come out and hear them.

Sander sighs dramatically, softly bumping his head against the kitchen entrance. “I don’t know how I’ll survive the night, Milan.” Sander confesses, eyes closed in embarrassment.

Milan giggles at his predicament. “Just confess, idiot.” 

“Well, now’s not exactly the best time.” Sander shots back, tone full of exasperation.

“Well, it’s your fault for not being straightforward. If you asked him out earlier, you would be in there making out with each other rather than you making out with the kitchen wall right now.” Milan laughs, voice full of teasing. 

“It’s just so hard. I don’t know why I can’t seem to say anything properly when those brown eyes look at me.” Sander explains, moving past Milan to grab a bottle of water from the counter. 

Milan smiles comfortingly, patting Sander on the shoulder. “Let me give you a piece of advice from one of my favourite movies - if you love someone you say it, you say it right then, out loud. Otherwise the moment just passes you by.” 

Sander pauses from drinking his water, with a raised eyebrow. “Which movie is that from?” 

“My best friend's wedding.” Milan says brightly to which Sander snorts. 

“That’s not exactly the best movie to get advice is it? She didn’t get her best friend in the end, right?” Sander asks before finally drinking his water.

“Ah, but it is! You wouldn’t want to be the best friend in Robbe’s wedding right?” Milan asks, with a wink at Sander’s stupefied expression. 

“Anyway, tough it out, Mr Driesen. I’m sure you’ve survived worse tortures than this one.” Milan says, dancing out of the kitchen with a cheeky smile. 

— 

Sander wallows in the kitchen for an hour, waiting for his laundry to finish. (More like sulking at his predicament.) 

After chucking his and Robbe’s clothes into the dryer, he calls it a night and heads back to the room to get some sleep. As he enters the room, he finds Robbe slumped on the desk. Thinking that the other fell asleep, Sander walks over to bring Robbe to the bed so that the latter could sleep properly. 

Sander leans over Robbe and briefly takes a moment to admire the younger’s soft expression. After getting his fill of Robbe (to ensure sweet dreams filled with the younger man), Sander moves to touch his arm but Robbe suddenly moves to hit him. Completely caught by surprise, his spy reflexes fail him and Robbe hits him on his head which makes him drop to the floor.

Robbe blinks back the sleep in his eyes and with growing horror and embarrassment, realises that he just hit Sander by accident. 

“Fuck, are you okay?” Robbe asks, quickly moving to gently grasp at Sander’s face and check for bruises. 

Sander eyes widen and he wonders if he got a concussion because Robbe is looking wonderfully angelic.

“Sander, are you okay?” Robbe asks and Sander is washed by a feeling of déjà vu from when Robbe saved him earlier. 

“Yeah, ah. I’m okay. You pack a strong punch.” Sander replies to which Robbe flushes red.

“Sorry, I’m not usually that violent. Guess the nerves of tonight got to me.” Robbe softly confesses. “Can you stand up?” 

Sander nods and Robbe helps him stand up. “Where did I hit you exactly?” Robbe asks after he has sat Sander on the bed. 

“Here.” Sander says, gingerly touching on the right side of his head. 

Robbe carefully touches the said area and Sander winces slightly which makes Robbe frown in displeasure. “I’m gonna go grab some ice real quick.” He says, running off before Sander can reply. 

After a few minutes, Robbe comes back carrying an ice pack. He helps Sander lie down on the pillow sideways before gently holding the ice pack against the bruised area. “I can hold it.” Sander offers, touching Robbe’s hand gently. 

“No, it’s okay. It’s the least I can do.” Robbe says, lying sideways facing Sander. 

Sander feels his breath catch. From this angle, Robbe is hit beautifully by the moonlight, giving him an otherworldly glow. Robbe is looking at him with such a soft look on his face, enhanced by his warm smile. Sander wonders if he’s being touched by an actual angel right now.

“Umm,” Robbe starts softly, idly looking at a piece of thread on the blanket. “Try not to fall asleep. I’m not sure if you have a concussion.” Robbe says timidly. 

_Why sleep when reality is so much more beautiful with you?_ Sander thinks to himself but nodding wordlessly at Robbe. 

“We should probably talk about something.” Robbe suggests, pursing his lips and looking quite flustered from Sander’s undivided attention. 

“What do you want to talk about?” Sander asks, a soft smile gracing his lips.

“Umm, we can play a game - alternate in asking one question at a time.” Robbe says.

“Okay, you go first. What do you want to ask me?” Sander agrees easily, raising his eyebrows in challenge. 

“Ahhh, favourite singer?” Robbe asks randomly.

Sander snorts at the cliche question. “We’re going to start easy, huh? David Bowie. My turn, favourite actor?”

“Leonardo Di Caprio.” Robbe smiles widely.

“Seriously?” Sander asks unbelievably.

“Hush, it’s my turn.” Robbe asks, pushing against Sander’s head bump lightly.

“Ouch, Robbe! I didn’t peg you to be a sadist. I guess looks can really be deceiving.” Sander sighs dramatically, wincing exaggeratedly. 

Robbe scoffs in disbelief. “You’re so ridiculous. Stop distracting me. It’s my turn! How many one-night stands have you had during your missions?” Robbe asks, eyes wide with curiosity.

Sander blinks at the unexpected question, wondering where it came from. “Umm, none. Do you actually think I’m some sort of James Bond going through Bond girls?” Sander asks in mild offense, pulling away from Robbe slightly.

Robbe’s face falls immediately, realising his misjudgment. “No, I didn’t— I’m sorry, Sander.” Robbe apologises sincerely, expression as forlorn as a kicked puppy. “It’s just that you’re so smooth all the time - I wondered if that’s how you charmed everyone.” He continues quietly, avoiding Sander’s eyes.

Sander sighs, wondering how he’ll ever survive Robbe if a part of him already feels like dying from putting that expression on the other’s face. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I guess I have some sort of reputation going around the agency.” Sander says, furrowing his eyebrows. 

Robbe peeks at him from underneath his long eyelashes, muttering a soft “sorry” again. 

Sander sighs, meeting Robbe’s eyes in a soft gaze. “It’s not that easy, you know - continuously deceiving people in this line of work. Sometimes, I also get confused with who I am, after getting thrown around jobs back to back.” 

“I know.” Robbe replies softly, fixing his hold on the ice pack against Sander’s head. “I mean, I don’t know what it’s like to be in your shoes because I haven’t gone on any mission. But, I know it’s tough what you do - I’ve seen how hard you work in between missions, so yeah.” 

Sander hums with a curious smile, “So you keep tabs on me?” 

Robbe blushes, tips of his ears turning red with each second. “I mean you come see me and Yasmina for help with your missions so I know how diligent you are.” 

Sander snorts, if Robbe only knew what he’s really diligent about. “How come you decided to stay in the lab anyway? From what I saw tonight, you’re good enough to go on missions on your own. I’m not pushing you to tell me the truth by the way - only if you want to.” Sander says, trying not to show how curious he is about Robbe’s story.

Robbe blinks at the compliment. “Umm, thanks. There’s no sob story actually, if that’s what you’re thinking.” He clarifies before continuing. “My parents got divorced while I was in training. It was a tough time, I wanted to be there for my mama but I couldn’t because of the training.”

Sander nods slightly, in understanding and also to prompt Robbe to continue. 

“Anyway, after the divorce, my mama moved back in with my grandma so everything was fine for a while. But right before I finished training, my grandma died, leaving my mama all alone. Aside from me, grandma was my mama’s only other family because she was adopted. So it just got me thinking about the dangers of the job - if I wanted to put my mama through the pain of losing me. I mean, the two of us only have each other and with this job - if I die on a mission, my mama will just be told a lie. If we’re lucky, my body can be recovered but in a lot of cases, the agency just sends an empty casket, right?” Robbe rambles, looking absentmindedly at a spot behind Sander. 

“Sorry, I was being morbid. Of course, you of all people know about the dangers of the job.” Robbe apologises, meeting Sander’s eyes.

Sander shifts slightly, moving closer to Robbe in comfort. “Hey, don’t apologise. I think about what you said a lot of times while I’m on missions.” 

“Yeah? So you don’t think I’m just some scaredy cat hiding in the basement?” Robbe asks deprecatingly.

Sander snorts. “You’ve helped us agents so much from working in that basement. I don’t even know how many times your gadgets saved my life. Your prototype car saved us today, didn’t it?” Sander says, trying to confer all his appreciation for Robbe with his words and tone.

Robbe giggles lightly at Sander’s comment. “Your spy moves saved us too.”

“Well, I helped out a tiny bit.” Sander replies, emphasising with his fingers how small his help was, making Robbe laugh louder. 

Sander sighs, relaxing on his side as he smiles at Robbe fondly. “You should smile and laugh like that always.” He says, unable to resist from reaching out to touch Robbe’s dimples.

Robbe’s face turns shy, smile becoming coy. He doesn’t say anything, opting to check on the ice pack which has turned warm. “I think we should get some sleep, Sander.” Robbe whispers, turning to deposit the ice pack on the bedside table. 

“Yeah?” Sander responds, yawning involuntarily, a sleepy smile on his face. Robbe nods as he turns back to look at him and run his hand through the blonde’s hair. “All good?”

Sander nods, settling comfortably on the pillow as he watches Robbe pull the blankets over them. It’s strange, his body doesn’t usually give in to tiredness after a series of fast-paced events, too wired to remain alert for surprise attacks. But with Robbe, he feels safe that he doesn’t think twice about closing his eyes to sleep.

—

Sander smiles as he snuggles further into the warmth that wraps against his body. It’s a bit strange to be this warm at this time of the year when the chills from the forthcoming winter are starting to be commonplace in the mornings. He’s at the cusp of waking but there's a steady beat playing against his ear, trying to pull him back to dreamland. 

He doesn’t usually dream or when he does, it’s not common that he has nice dreams. In his dream, he was at a cafe with Robbe, laughing as they joked and fed each other bites of aperitif. There was some beer so he might’ve been a bit bold as he kissed Robbe’s ear and whispered - _let’s get out of here_. Robbe, in his dream, felt incredibly real that he could smell Robbe’s distinct smell as he kissed the other shamelessly in the cafe. 

Sander sighs, trying to get comfortable when he feels slender legs brush up against his own legs, before wrapping around them. He tries to wake up, trying to make sense of where he is before realising that - _oh, I’m in bed with Robbe_. 

He blinks slowly to clear the sleep from his eyes and finds himself tucked under Robbe’s chin, head nestled against the other’s warm chest. Sander breathes slowly, trying to calm his racing heart and not wake the other. 

Sander uses all of his spy training as he carefully moves his head, wanting to see Robbe’s sleeping face. After inching his head higher, Sander feels his heart inflate from all sorts of emotions as he is met with Robbe’s beautiful sleeping face. Robbe’s sharp features are softened by the warm light, peeking through the yellow curtains. His brown hair turns golden and his curls seem to form a halo as it fans around his head. 

Unconsciously, Sander’s hands move to trace a path in the air, from Robbe’s cheeks to the bridge of his nose before following the tendrils of hair to his ear. Sander wants to touch him so bad, to feel if his skin is as smooth and warm as he’s always imagined it to be. 

As Sander sighs defeated by Robbe’s angelic beauty, sleepy brown eyes open to meet his own. Sander’s breath catches in his throat at the shock of being caught, completely frozen from his position as he leans on top of Robbe. 

(To be honest, Sander’s not even sure how he got to that position. One minute he was like a creep, just inching upwards. And in the next minute, his arm has found its way next to Robbe’s head as he uses it to support himself and not completely lean on Robbe.) 

“Umm.” Robbe starts, flustered and confused at their position, eyes wide at Sander. “Good morning?” He asks, trying to figure out how to clear the awkward start to their day. 

Before Sander could reply, the door burst open and Milan comes through the door. “Children! Breakfast is getting cold!” He exclaims loudly, a wide and bright smile on his face.

Sander jumps in surprise, making him topple to the floor with a loud bang. 

“Sander!” Robbe exclaims, leaning over the bed to find Sander with eyes shut to stop the world from turning. 

(At the door, Milan confusedly looks at them. Did he just cockblock Sander?)

—

After Milan apologised from barging in the room and Robbe has checked Sander’s head and body for any bruises (while Sander just sat there with a dopey smile, already better from Robbe’s attention), the three men moved to have their breakfast in the living room where Milan has set up his computer for an early meeting with the agency. 

“Did you have a good rest after last night’s events?” Mr Maes asks warmly, a fatherly smile on his face. 

Robbe nods, “Milan was very helpful in helping us settle in.” 

Mr Maes hums, nodding in acknowledgement. “And did you have a nice dinner, the two of you?” 

“Oh my god, Mr Maes! Sander got them kebabs - as take out! Can you imagine?!” Milan gasps dramatically, placing a hand on his chest for added effect.

Sander chokes on his coffee as the group of people at the other side of the meeting erupts into gasps and a series of inaudible murmurs can be heard crackling through the video. Beside Mr Maes, Yasmina can be seen as she drops her head to shake in mild disappointment. Robbe raises his eyebrows at Milan, thoroughly smug from gaining the reaction he wanted, as he gently thumps on Sander’s back to help him with his choking.

“It was late and we had a long night.” Sander exclaims defensively after clearing his windpipes.

“Even I know that there are some good restaurants in Brussels for some late night snack runs.” Adi quips in the background, face not visible in the screen. “I could’ve done something better than kebabs.” 

“Umm, what’s the problem with kebabs? I mean I was craving for kebabs yesterday and Sander got them from a great place.” Robbe finally speaks up, wanting to defend Sander from whatever issue is with kebabs.

Soft groans can be heard through the screen as Mr Maes chuckles warmly. “There’s nothing wrong with kebabs, Robbe. It’s good that you had a delicious dinner. I’m sure Sander can take you to a nicer restaurant after you celebrate from your first mission together.”

Sander sits up at the last statement as Robbe glances at him with a curious look. “What do you mean ‘first mission together’?” 

“Well, it’s about time we started on our mission briefing.” Mr Maes announces as the people on the other side put on their serious faces. 

“I’m guessing you already know who instigated the attack last night?” Mr Maes asks to which Robbe and Sander nods. 

Yasmina pulls up a briefing slide show on the screen which shows the picture of a tall brunette, all dressed up in a party setting. “Charles Munier, age 29, second son of Etienne Munier who is the head of the Munier group which has extensive dealings in selling weapons to terrorists around the world.” Yasmina discusses, as the slides show an older man on the covers of business magazines. “We’ve been running reconnaissance missions on Etienne and other key leaders in the group for years but they leave no evidence of their activities. They’re smart and know when and how to lay low and not get too greedy.”

“Until Charles Munier who stamps his name all over everything.” Sander concludes wryly. 

“Yes, until Charles Munier.” Mr Maes agrees. 

“What else do we know about this Charles?” Robbe asks. 

Yasmina snorts, “Nothing’s too striking about the guy. Typical spoiled brat who thinks he’s got a way with the ladies. Sander would know about him, you’ve had a brief encounter with him, right?”

“Yeah, he was at one of those ‘charity events’ organised by a previous target. Didn’t really talk to him but, he was quite the arrogant fool, trying to flirt with Manon Demissy. I reckon he was trying to find a way into her network.” Sander explains to which Robbe sends a questioning glance. 

“Manon?” Robbe asks curiously. “Is she someone we should be looking out for too?”

“Oh, Manon’s all good. She’s the PR head for a big non-profit organisation which operates in Africa. She threw wine at Charles’ face after he started on his misogynistic rants. Quite the spectacle if I may say, one of the highlights of the night.” Sander says, words laced with humour as Robbe smiles, seemingly fascinated with the story.

“Back to Charles.” Yasmina interrupts to bring back the two men’s attention to the briefing. “Moyo, who is in Cannes for another mission, reported that Charles is hosting the ‘charity party’ that his target is attending. From what Moyo’s been able to dig up, the party is a front for a secret meeting that these crime families are attending. We think Charles was planning to steal our technology to show off to potential partners or buyers.”

Sander snorts. “He’s rushing to impress Etienne as there’s rumours that Etienne’s choosing the successor for the family business.”

“So, what’s the plan? Am I heading back to Antwerp today?” Robbe asks.

“No, Robbe. You will be joining Sander in Cannes so we can get Charles Munier. He’s probably under a lot of pressure as their infiltration to our lab failed. We’re going to act fast and take advantage of the situation.” 

Robbe throws Sander a confused look as Milan sits in his chair comfortably, sipping his coffee to hide a mischievous grin which Sander still managed to catch from the corner of his eye. 

(Inwardly, Sander sighs loudly and face palms as he can see what the whole team is trying to do.)

“But I’m not a field agent, Mr Maes.” Robbe says. “Besides, Sander usually does his missions alone or if it’s a big one, he usually works with Adi, right?” 

“Sorry, Robbe. I’m actually about to leave for a mission at noon. I just dropped by this meeting to check on Sander.” Adi says from outside the camera. 

Robbe purses his lips, looking so conflicted at the entire situation that Sander wants to pull his hair from frustration at the entire team’s collaborative effort to matchmake while under a tense situation. 

“I just don’t want to cause the mission to fail.” Robbe finallys says, looking down at the floor.

Hearing that makes Sander immediately sit up straight with concerned eyes. “Hey, Robbe.” He says, gently touching Robbe’s knee to get the other to look at him. “You’re not a burden on this mission, nor will you ever be for any other mission. I mean, I’m still in awe with how amazing you were at handling last night’s debacle. You had razor-like focus and calmness when you defended us and drove us out of that mess last night. I don’t think I’ll be alive if it wasn't for you. You’re a natural, just follow your instincts.” Sander says firmly, with a proud and encouraging smile. 

Robbe’s eyes brighten a bit. “You really think I won’t be a burden on this mission?”

Sander squeezes Robbe’s knee. “It’s not just me who trusts you. Besides, you shouldn’t think you’re going alone on this mission. You’ll have me and I’m sure the agency will have our back the second things start to look bad.” Sander says, finishing with a wink. 

Robbe closes his eyes, seemingly trying to weigh the positives and negatives of the situation. He sighs, opening his eyes to meet Sander’s waiting gaze.“Okay, I’ll go on the mission.” Robbe affirms, with a small smile.

Unfortunately, Sander and Robbe’s soft and quiet moment is disturbed by the sound of clapping, coming from the screen before it’s shushed promptly. Both Sander and Robbe’s cheeks flush from the attention and cheeky smiles which have appeared on everyone’s faces, including Mr Maes.

“Well, now that we’ve settled that Robbe will be joining Sander on this mission. Let’s talk about strategy.” Mr Maes finally says to the relief of both men. “And Robbe, I just want to give you complete reassurance that we’ll be supporting you and Sander, a hundred percent on this mission. If anything, I’m sure Sander will have our heads on the platter if you get hurt and we couldn’t do anything about it.” Mr Maes finishes with a smile, looking pointedly at Sander’s direction. 

  
(Shortly after the mission briefing, Sander receives a text from Adi saying - _Don’t disappoint me this time, make sure you bring him to a nice restaurant at Cannes! There’s rows of amazing restaurants there!You know what, I’ll send you a list!_ )

—

Sander and Robbe’s flight arrived at Aéroport de Cannes Mandelieu late in the afternoon. After the mission briefing, Milan had helped them pack essential items for the mission - clothes and spy tech which should easily pass through airport security. 

Majority of the plan is based on the element of surprise so they need to act fast and get whatever evidence Charles probably has hidden in that mansion and party of his. Marcus reported that there are still some of Charles’ goons lurking around the bookstore, probably checking if the agency already knows who’s the mastermind of yesterday’s botched plan. Sander thinks that Charles might’ve been scammed by whoever is leading his operations - they’re obviously inexperienced and arrogant like their master. 

Presently, the agency is still acting as if they’re still investigating who’s the culprit. Being obvious about the whole process, even if it’s not their style. Clearly, Charles doesn’t know them that well otherwise, he wouldn’t have attacked and left evidence the way he did. Meanwhile, Sander and Robbe will be infiltrating the party, acting as Moyo’s bodyguard and assistant respectively, to get into the party. 

Sander grabs his and Robbe’s suitcase as Robbe, who was delayed at immigration due to the long line, walks toward him. Sander flashes him a grin as he starts moving towards the exit gate, knowing that Robbe will probably chase after him to help Sander with his bags. 

“Sorry, you can give me the bag.” Robbe says, grabbing onto Sander’s hand to pull at the bag strap. 

“Cutie, if you want to hold my hand, you don’t have to try so hard.” Sander says, winking at Robbe.

Robbe blushes but doesn't let go of Sander’s hand. “Come on, let me help.” He whines, not giving up.

“Nope.” Sander replies with a pop, pulling Robbe with him as he continues walking toward the exit. Robbe pouts, letting him go but walking along with him. 

Outside, they find Moyo leaning against an expensive, silver car. “Hey,” Moyo greets them both with a one-armed hug. “Had a good flight?”

“Yeah, nothing special.” Sander replies, placing their bags at the trunk of the car. “Wish we could’ve drove here but, we’re a bit tight on time.”

Moyo shrugs his shoulders before motioning for both boys to get in the car and moving to the driver’s side. Before Robbe could get in the back seat, Sander reaches him and gently pushes him to take the passenger seat beside Moyo instead. Robbe gives him a questioning gaze to which he responds with a reassuring smile, “I know you’re good friends with him.” Sander says before Robbe grins and both of them get inside the car.

“Ready for your first mission, Robbe?” Moyo asks as he drives them out of the airport. “I heard you made quite a mess out of Charles’ crew.” Moyo continues, raising his hand for a fist bump.

Robbe chuckles, returning the fist bump. “It wasn’t all me. Sander helped out a lot too.” 

“Oh, but it was definitely most of your work, Robbe.” Sander pipes out from the back. “You should’ve seen him shoot those guys. I was just laying there, letting him do all the work.” Sander says offhandedly, before realising how his words can be misinterpreted.

Before Sander could rectify himself, Moyo barks out a laugh. “Sounds like you’re the type to just lay there and let your partner do all the work, huh? Didn’t peg you to be the type, Sander. Robbe, you better continue what you’re doing then.” 

Obviously, Robbe understood the innuendo in both Sander’s statement and Moyo’s joke because he grew red as a tomato, trying to sink in his seat from embarrassment. 

(As the view changes from the airport to the sea, Sander wishes his seat can open up and swallow him to oblivion. He was starting to get back to his bearings and be the cool spy but, he just had to run his mouth and embarrass both Robbe and himself.)

—

Moyo drives them back to one of the agency’s safe houses, facing the French Riviera. The party starts in a few hours - just enough time to get ready and rehash the plan. 

Moyo leads them to two adjoining rooms to freshen up and get dressed for the evening. “Try not to let Robbe do all the work before we leave.” Moyo teases, leaving with a wink and a cheeky smile.

Robbe quickly goes to his room with a blush, muttering a soft “see you later” before leaving Sander standing in the hallway. 

Sander sighs, thinking that he’ll have to start putting a filter on his mouth if he doesn’t want to scare Robbe away. 

Later, as he’s letting the warm water wash the tension off his body, he starts to focus and ground himself. If he’s going to try and not get the three of them killed, he’s going to have to remain calm and focused. Their mission tonight is not to wreak havoc on Charles’ party. If they want to bring Charles, and hopefully the rest of his family, behind bars, they’re going to have to get the most incriminating evidence they can find at the party tonight. 

After he dries himself from his shower, Sander slips on the clothes which Milan chose and packed for him - a black turtleneck, black plants, and a dark grey coat. Nothing too flashy that would make him too memorable. He pockets one of his favourite gadgets, a silver pen, which functions as a camera, lock picker, and a small tranquilliser gun that happens to be one of Robbe’s first creations, before fluffing his hair and leaving the room. 

As he turns to close the door, his heart drops at the sight of the gorgeous angel, waiting for him in the hallway. Leaning against the wall, there stood Robbe with his legs encased in slim, black pants that emphasised his slender form. For his top, he’s wearing a forest green shirt with the top two (or was it three?) buttons undone, left wide open to emphasise his clavicles and his beautiful, golden skin. At the base of his throat, innocently lay his angel pendant which Sander wanted to tongue, filled with indecent thoughts. _So much for calm and focus_ , Sander thinks as he shuts the door with a deliberate sound to catch Robbe’s attention. 

Robbe glances up from his phone, standing up straight as he clutches a dinner jacket on one hand. “Hey, ah, what do you think? Too much?” Robbe asks unsurely, straightening up his clothes. “I mean, Milan said to keep the three buttons undone. I’m not exactly sure why because I think I look more like a pimp and not really an assistant.” Robbe rambles on, hands playing with the undone button, avoiding eye contact with Sander. 

(Now, Sander understood why Milan pulled him back to whisper “you’ll thank me later,” when he dropped them off at the airport in Brussels.)

“Hey,” Sander says, nudging at Robbe’s to make him look up. “You look amazing.” 

“Yeah?” Robbe asks, looking a bit awestruck.

“Yes.” Sander confirms with a bright grin. “Although, maybe close one button.” Sander continues, hands going up to close Robbe’s shirt, both of them resisting the shiver from the accidental touch of their skins. “Don’t want you to get cold.” Sander says, drowning in Robbe’s caramel brown eyes, unconsciously leaning towards the other’s lips which have parted open. 

“Guys, we better hurry up if we want to make most of our time at the party.” Moyo’s voice is heard right before he makes an appearance from the turn at the hallway. He awkwardly takes a pause, taking account of Robbe and Sander’s position, wondering if he just interrupted something important.

Robbe blinks, taking a step back first. “Yeah, Sander and I were just about to see you.” 

“Well, it’s no rush if you two were in the middle of something important.” Moyo says, waving his hands for them to continue.

“Let’s just go.” Robbe states, marching forward and passing Moyo in the hallway. 

Moyo shrugs, mouthing a ‘sorry’ towards Sander before following Robbe to the gadget room.

Sander sighs, giving in to his defeat. Seems like he and Robbe are always at the wrong place and wrong time.

—

  
  


“So the gadget room is here.” Moyo says, as he scans his biometrics against a hidden panel. The wall slides open, revealing a modern room with walls of metal panels. 

“I just need to grab my tuxedo jacket so feel free to look around. Yasmina already authorised your biometrics in the system so there should be no issues in accessing the gadgets. I’ll be right back.” Moyo says before leaving Robbe and Sander to explore the metal panels which contained the gadgets. 

Sander leads the way to a screen placed on one of the walls, with Robbe following slowly behind. He scans his palm on the screen and the walls start making a mechanical sound as the metal panels start sliding open to reveal the various gadgets in the room. 

“Have you been here before?” Robbe asks, taking curious steps toward a shelf encasing eyeglasses and sunglasses of differing styles. 

“No. But the secret rooms in the safe houses are structured similarly so everything works the same way.” Sander explains walking over to Robbe and inspecting thick framed glasses. “Agency never really sent me to these kinds of vacation spots. For some reason, my missions are always in cold places in the middle of winter and based on my recent target’s movement, I’ll be spending winter in Russia this time.”

Robbe giggles, “But you’re not really good with the cold, right?” 

Sander blinks, wondering how Robbe knew when the only other person who knew about his dislike of the cold was Adi. 

Robbe says, glancing at Sander, “Oh, you must be wondering how I know?” He shyly touches one of the glasses by its frame. “Umm, you’re quite particular about the thermal devices whenever you’re about to head to a cold location. You’ve never complained but, umm, Adi doesn’t really ask or is particular about those things so I thought you might not like the cold a lot.” Robbe finishes softly, eyes still focused on the display infront of him. 

_Oh. Well, that’s interesting._ Sander thinks to himself. Before he can say anything, Robbe awkwardly asks, “Do you think I should wear glasses?” 

Sander purses his lips in a smile, noticing the forced shift in conversation. “Yeah, I think these would fit you beautifully, Mr Assistant.” Sander says, carefully placing the glasses he was holding on Robbe’s small face. 

“Mr Assistant?” Moyo asks, making Robbe and Sander both jump from his sudden appearance.

Moyo walks toward them. “What kind of roleplay are you both into?” He asks with a smirk and raised eyebrow.

Robbe shoots Moyo a look of aghast from his implication. “That’s my cover. I’m supposed to be your assistant, remember.”

Moyo’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What are you talking about? Robbe, your cover is a rich upstart and Sander’s supposed to be your new boytoy for the season.”

At that, Sander chokes on his saliva as he flashed an incredulous look at Moyo. “You’re kidding us right?” Sander asks, glancing at Robbe who looks like a deer caught in the headlight.

“Umm, no. Here, it’s written on the invitation here.” Moyo says defensively, pulling out an invitation from his jacket pocket and handing it to Sander to check. “Besides, in what universe does an assistant dress like Robbe? Look at how many buttons he has undone?” 

Sander pulls out the card from the envelope as Robbe shuffles closer to take a look at the contents as well.

_An invitation_

_for_

_Monsieur Louis Dubois and companion_

“Robbe’s cover name is Louis Dubois, correct? I mean, didn’t you guys read your fake profiles on the way here?” Moyo asks confusedly, looking between Robbe whose jaw has dropped in shock and Sander whose left eye is twitching in frustration.

“They said our profiles haven’t been made yet and that they’ll send them through when we arrive.” Robbe exclaims, closing his eyes to calm himself. 

“Oh, that’s right.” Moyo says, recalling that piece of information. “Anyway, I have it here in the computer so you both have ten minutes to go through everything.”

(In his mind, Sander’s already plotting 100 ways to exact revenge on his friends. He’s just trying to figure out whether he should start with Milan or Adi. He’s sure either one of them planned fake relationship cover.)

—

After Moyo left, Robbe had been reviewing his profile without saying a word to Sander. In Sander’s case, he did one read through his profile before muttering a curse and taking a seat on a sofa in the house’s living area to wait for Robbe. 

The agency is _meddling_ and they’re not even trying to hide it anymore. Sander thinks, releasing an irritated huff. Moyo had even pulled out matching ear cuffs for their communication devices, following (very) specific instructions that they should have matching jewelry. 

For this mission, Sander’s supposed to be Gabriel Peeters. Nothing’s particularly striking about his cover. He’s a struggling singer who was serving tables after he lost all his money in Greece. Robbe, or rather Louis, had met him while he was vacationing there last summer. Since then, they’ve continued their torrid love affair with Louis bringing Gabriel along to all his business trips. 

Monsieur Louis Dubois, on the other hand, is an illegitimate child who has received a large inheritance from his father’s family, in exchange for his silence. He used said inheritance to buy dying companies and rebuilt them to flourishing ones.

Individually, the profiles Sander and Robbe received are typical ones - nothing so extraordinary that will beg for people’s attention or unnecessary questions. However, together, it’s a cover that’s difficult to pull off. Their relationship was written as two persons still in the honeymoon phases of the relationship, unable to give other people more than a minute of their time.

It’s not a difficult task for Sander, considering how much he likes Robbe. He can easily fall into the character of a lovesick fool. But, he can understand that it can be hard for Robbe - with it being his first mission. They could easily blow their cover if Robbe stiffens up and is unresponsive to his flirting. 

Sander closes his eyes as he massages his forehead to release the tension. He hears quiet footsteps stop a few steps infront of him and finds Robbe, waiting nervously for him. “It’s about time we leave, don’t you think?” Robbe asks, looking towards the window and avoiding Sander’s eyes.

Sander stands up, pulling out the car keys from his pocket and leading the way to the garage. Moyo had given them the keys to a red Ferrari - something flashy that an upstart would use. 

The two of them wordlessly get in the car with Sander sneaking glances at Robbe every now and then. Just as he was about to start the car, Sander notices Robbe fidgeting and drumming his fingers on his knee anxiously. Sander sighs and takes Robbe’s hand in his own, catching Robbe’s wide-eyed look.

“Hey, what did I tell you before we left Brussels?” Sander asks, looking straight into Robbe’s eyes. “You’re a natural. You’ve got this.” 

“I’m worried that I won’t be a good partner.” Robbe confesses, holding tight onto Sander’s hand. 

Sander smiles gently, squeezing Robbe’s hand in return. “Just follow my lead. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, okay?” 

Robbe nods unsurely, eyes firmly locked on their hands. 

“Ok, I’ll make you a deal.” Sander says, causing Robbe to bring back his attention on Sander’s face. “If I do anything uncomfortable, just tug on my left hand thrice and then I’ll stop.” 

Robbe pauses, seemingly contemplating the idea. “Okay. But, only if you promise to do the same.”

Sander smiles charmingly. “That’s a deal.” He says while using the hand not in Robbe’s grip to poke at the other’s dimples to make him smile. 

— 

Charles’ mansion was by the beach and Sander could tell immediately that it was his mansion with the long line of luxury cars entering the driveway. The strange thing about Charles is while he came from old money, he has such gaudy and loud taste. This party, for example, couldn’t be any more chaotic with half-dressed women and red lights welcoming the guests. Sander reckons that if he could bring in an elephant to the party, he would actually have them. 

After arriving, Robbe easily hands over the invitation to the staff in-charge of the guest list, completely natural in his movements, and they’re allowed in the party with no question. 

“Is it normally like this?” Robbe discreetly asks as he wraps his hand around Sander’s arm. Sander straightens the glasses on Robbe’s face and smiles at the large brown eyes that blink back at him. He’s sure they’re the picture of a perfect couple.

“No, it’s usually more low key - formal, black tie - that sort of thing.” Sander whispers back as they are led through the garden where there’s a fire breather entertaining a group of guests. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some celebrities here.”

They follow the group of guests to a brightly-lit hallway where Charles’ various portraits are obnoxiously displayed. “He seems a bit...” Robbe trails off, waving his hand unable to explain in words what kind of man their target is for the evening. 

Sander chuckles, mildly entertained by Charles’ portraits - there’s one where he’s just standing by a big motorcycle. “I know what you mean, my dear Louis.” He whispers, feeling the shivers run through Robbe’s hand.

Robbe nods, looking a bit flustered but drawing closer to Sander and giving the pretense of a young man in love. 

They shortly arrive at the mansion’s ballroom where the party is being held. The party looks like a scene from the Moulin Rouge with the red drapings and chandelier ceilings. A server leads them to their assigned table which is occupied by old men flirting with the hired entertainers, completely unbothered by Robbe and Sander’s presence. 

Robbe raises his eyebrow, shrugging discreetly in the direction of the men. “I thought this was a charity event?” Robbe whispers quietly, leaning close to Sander’s ear. 

Sander shrugs, not knowing what the party was about. “Do you want to take a look around?” He asks instead to which Robbe nods before standing up. 

They both need to find Moyo before they officially commence tonight’s mission so they start to look around, hands locked with each other tightly. 

The party is large with around a hundred guests, Sander thinks. It must be a nightmare for Moyo with his own target but it’s a relief for Sander because it’s much easier to hide when there’s this much people around. 

After being pulled into small talk by some ladies who thought that they looked sweet together, completely enamoured and giggling at Robbe’s blushing cheeks, they eventually find Moyo by the dessert table, speaking with a middle-aged man.

(Robbe was particularly cute, Sander had noted. Awkwardly pushing at his glasses and stammering at the ladies’ motherly attention.)

“Andre,” Robbe greets with a handshake, using Moyo’s alias. “Fancy meeting you here.” 

“Louis, what a surprise. You’re not one to attend these parties.” Moyo greets back. “Monsieur Jacques, let me introduce you to an old friend. This is Louis Dubois. He does business by investing in old businesses.” 

“Pleased to meet you, Monsieur Jacques.” Robbe greets, giving the man a firm handshake who simply hums in acknowledgement. 

“Oh, let me introduce you to my partner. This is—“ Robbe starts, pulling Sander.

“I believe I should be going. It was nice catching up with you, Andre.” Monsieur Jacques rudely interrupts, giving Robbe and Sander a snobbish glance before walking away.

“Well, that was rude.” Sander comments, wrinkling his nose in distaste while Robbe frowns at the man.

Moyo sighs, simply muttering. “Welcome to my world.”

Robbe nods, patting Moyo’s shoulder in comfort. “Gabriel and I want to take a look around. Anything interesting around here?”

“Something’s gonna happen in the wine cellar.” Moyo whispers as he leans behind Robbe, under the pretense of taking a macaron. 

“Ok, we will be heading there first. Will you be following?” Robbe asks while Sander stands by to observe the party.

“It depends. Whatever’s happening doesn’t seem to be of interest to my target. I’m most likely to stay here.” Moyo replies discreetly as he takes a bite off his macaron. 

“Ok, we’ll see you later then?” Robbe asks with a wide grin, tugging on Sander to signal for them to move. 

“Sure, you know how to contact me?” Moyo asks, returning the smile with a handshake. 

Robbe simply nods as he shakes Moyo’s hand and lets Sander do the same. 

“It was nice to meet you, Gabriel. You make a nice couple - the two of you.” Moyo winks, smiling mischievously. Robbe rolls his eyes at Moyo before pulling Sander by the hand towards one of the side doors in the ballroom. 

Sander wraps an arm around Robbe’s waist as they navigate past a crowd by the door. “You’re doing really well.” He praises, lips brushing against Robbe’s ear due to the tight space.

Robbe flashes him a thankful grin as they finally get back into the hallway. 

They take their time walking through the hallway, pretending to look at Charles’ portraits and other artwork displayed along the way to not catch any attention. After finding a quiet place, free of wandering guests, Sander gently pushes Robbe against the wall, to the surprise of the younger man.

“San- Gabriel, what—“ Robbe starts, eyes wide as Sander shakes his head with a smile, tucking a curl behind Robbe’s ear to tap on his ear cuff to activate the communication device. 

Robbe flushes attractively, realising what Sander did when he hears Yasmina’s computerised voice speaking straight to his ear. “Maybe you can try something similar for me?” Sander whispers on Robbe’s other ear, the one without the ear cuff, unconsciously breathing in Robbe’s scent.

Robbe carefully wraps his arms around Sander, making the blonde’s heart skip a beat even though he initiated the first move. Sander feels time stop as Robbe gently runs his hand on Sander’s shoulder blades before moving up his neck and tapping on his ear cuff. “There you go.” Robbe whispers softly to his ear.

Sander takes a deep breath, trying to calm his heart which seems to drum louder in his ear with each passing second. He opens his mouth to speak when Yasmina’s voice calls out through the ear cuff, “Robbe? Sander? Are both of you okay?” 

Robbe breathes out, one arm wrapped around Sander’s neck. He hides his face in Sander’s neck, making blood rush through Sander’s veins as Robbe seems to hug him closer. “All good. Just some guests passing by.” Robbe replies to Yasmina. 

Sander closes his eyes to focus and heighten his hearing. Robbe’s right, he can hear footsteps from behind him. “Let me know when they’re gone.” Sander whispers to which Robbe responds with a small nod. 

As they wait, Sander unconsciously tightens his hold around Robbe’s body, wanting to savor the moment a bit longer. 

After one or two minutes, Robbe lets go of Sander. “Coast is clear.” He reports back to Yasmina as they both straighten their clothings. 

“Good. Do you know where to go?” Yasmina asks.

“Yeah, Moyo said it seems like there’s something going on in the wine cellar so we’re going to check it out.” Sander reports as he starts walking in the direction of the wine cellar, motioning with his head for Robbe that they should start moving.

Robbe quickly walks alongside Sander, grabbing his hand so that they can walk hand in hand. Sander tightens his hold on Robbe as Yasmina replies, “Ok, I’ve hacked into the security cameras and located both of you. I’ll keep an eye on the hallway and let you know if anyone’s coming so that you can hide or pretend to do what you were doing earlier.”

Sander glances at Robbe, checking to see what’s his reaction to being caught in an embrace with Sander. As expected, Robbe has turned a lovely rose color, avoiding Sander’s eyes. 

They quickly stalk down the hallway, moving faster now that no guests are in sight. In their ears, Yasmina instructs them the way to the wine cellar which is located in the basement of the mansion. 

Just as they were a few metres to the stairs leading to the underground wine cellar, one of the doors open to reveal Charles walking out, followed by a group of men. 

Sander quickly pushes Robbe to hide beside one of the large statues. He signals to Robbe to keep silent to which the other nods in understanding. Together, they both peek from behind the statue and watch as Charles and his men go down the stairs, murmuring amongst themselves. 

Once the last man disappears down the stairwell, Sander uses his communication device to ask Yasmina, “Do you think there’s a camera inside the room they just left?”

“Already checking on it.” Yasmina replies, the sound of typing heard through their ear cuffs.

“It might be his office.” Robbe whispers, raising his eyebrows at Sander.

“Yeah, that’s what I think too.” Sander replies, pulling on his gloves and afterwards, his pen as he quietly stalks toward the room.

“I’ll keep a watch out.” Robbe whispers, already aware of what Sander’s planning to do.

Trusting Robbe to watch his back, Sander focuses as he inserts the pen through the door’s keyhole. Within a few seconds, they hear the audible click as the door unlocks. “Let’s go.” Sander whispers, pulling the door open. 

“Yasmina, let us know if anyone’s coming.” Robbe whispers to his communication device, following Sander inside and closing the door quietly. 

“Roger that.” Yasmina replies.

The room, like the rest of the mansion, is ostentatious with its heavy, red curtains by the large bay windows and golden candelabras. The room is a small library, with shelves of books covering all the walls, except one where another portrait of Charles is hanging. This guy must really love himself, Sander thinks as he investigates the rest of the room. 

Robbe has gone straight to the computer, with his own gloves already on so that his fingerprints are not left on the keyboard. Sander leaves him to check on the computer as he examines the shelves for any evidence. 

As Sander expected, there’s a small vault placed at the bottom of one of the shelves. Atleast, Sander didn’t have to heave that large portrait to check if the vault is behind it. Similar to what he did at the door, he uses another function of his pen to unlock the vault. Not even a minute later, the vault creaks as it opens. 

Sander quickly grabs the contents of the vault, letting out a low whistle as he finds weapons contracts with known terrorists. Robbe glances at him as he waves the documents with a triumphant smile, mouthing ‘bingo’ which makes Robbe grin widely. Sander quickly pulls on his own spy glasses so that he can quickly scan the documents, taking extra care to capture each detail. The documents will not only incriminate Charles, they will give the agency leads on other terrorist activities. 

After going through each piece of paper in the vault, Sander organises and returns them as he found them before locking the vault again. He quickly walks over to check on Robbe who’s already copied 90% of the computer contents to a small memory device. 

“Did you find anything good?” Sander asks to which Robbe nods. 

“Yeah, there are photos of him and his family at meetings with some terrorists. I think there’s even recordings of them testing the weapons on some villages.” Robbe shares, hands quickly moving over the keyboard.

“Do you think, I mean can we actually alert the authorities about what’s happening now? I mean there’s a lot of criminals in the wine cellar, right? And we have the evidence.” Robbe asks, tone unsure as he glances at Sander. 

“I was actually thinking the same.” Sander replies with a nod. “Yasmina, you think you can do something about that?”

Yasmina snorts through the line. “Who do you think I am. I’ve already alerted the French authorities and Interpol since you entered that room. Just— fuck guys, Charles and his men are on his way.” 

“What do you mean they still couldn’t grab the weapons?” Charles angrily asks.

“They have a lot of agents and police in the vicinity investigating what happened. We can’t risk being caught.” A male voice replies, trying to appease Charles.

Robbe reacts quickly, pulling the memory device from the computer and dragging Sander hide by a bookshelf, squeezing the blonde’s hand tightly. “Shit, we left the door open.” Robbe whispers.

“So what do you expect us to show our guests?! They’re waiting for something exciting!” Charles demands loudly, his footsteps growing louder, as he walks toward the room that Robbe and Sander are in. 

Sander rubs a hand up Robbe’s shoulder to calm the other’s nerves as he tries to listen closely to what’s happening outside.

Shit, Sander thinks. He and Robbe can probably take Charles and his men on but their cover will be blown. Before he can turn to say something to Robbe, he is pulled down to a chaise lounge on top of the other. Robbe immediately wraps his arms around Sander while simultaneously trying to remove his gloves. 

Sander hears the rattle of the door knob and a voice asking, “Did we leave the door unlocked?”

Shortly after, the door creaks open and Robbe let out a loud moan by Sander’s ear making the blonde widen his green eyes at the smaller boy. The footsteps at the door pause and Robbe raises his eyebrows at Sander, as if to telepathically say - _play along!_

The person at the door tentatively takes another step forward, prompting Sander to make a low groan to which Robbe responds with another exaggerated moan.

Seemingly undeterred by the moaning, the person takes a few more steps in the room and Robbe rushes to mess up Sander’s hair. Sander quickly removes and pockets his own gloves before moving to unbutton Robbe’s shirt while he lets out another groan. 

  
(They’re in such a dire moment but all Sander could think of was if Robbe was just as loud ~~and delicious~~ in bed.)

Just as Sander pulls Robbe’s shirt out of his pants, someone delicately coughs from behind the chaise lounge.

Sander makes eye contact with Robbe and the other nods, signaling for them to get up. Sander grasps his pen on one hand, ready to use it should things go downhill. They slowly move to get up to find Charles and his men, looking quite red on the face. “Umm,” Robbe starts, looking beautifully debauched as he tries to tuck his shirt back in his pants. 

“I’m sorry but I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Charles stiffly orders. “Leo will escort you to your car.” 

Leo, a large, bulky man steps forward and motions for Sander and Robbe to leave the room first. 

“I am quite sorry about this.” Robbe says, fixing his glasses as he and Sander awkwardly shuffle to exit the room. Charles looks away from them, merely giving them a shoo-ing motion to leave.

Sander clasps Robbe’s shaking hand in his as they start walking down the hallway. “Is there another way to the parking area or do we have to go through the main entrance looking like this?” Sander asks Leo who follows behind him.

Leo gives Sander a stern look, obviously judging what they were ‘caught doing’. “I should make you walk through the party just so that all the guests can see how disrespectful you both are to the host.” Leo says condescendingly. “Try to fix yourselves up here.” 

Sander raises his eyebrow in disbelief as he and Robbe pause with the other sighing in defeat. “Let’s just fix ourselves.” Robbe mutters, straightening Sander’s coat before moving to fix the buttons of his shirt. 

“All done?” Leo demands impatiently.

Sander sighs loudly, replying, “Yeah. We’ll be on our—“

The sound of a radio crackles. “Leo, bring them back. They hacked into Charles’ computer.” 

Sander meets Leo’s eyes at the sudden announcement. Leo moves to jump at Robbe but, Sander is faster and he quickly uses his pen to shoot a tranquilliser at the large man. Leo falls to the floor, momentarily unconscious and Sander grabs Robbe’s hand to run. 

“Fuck, sorry. I didn’t have time to turn off the computer.” Robbe apologises as they run through the hallway.

“Don’t worry about it. We were both caught off guard. You did really good to get us out of there without causing a big commotion.” Sander replies, pulling Robbe closer as they arrive back at the party. 

“Boys, the French authorities will be there in five minutes. Just try not to get caught before they arrive.” Yasmina advises through their ear cuffs. 

The party is in full swing with people dancing all over the floor. “We need to blend in.” Sander whispers to Robbe as they navigate through the dance floor. 

Right now, their best option is to stay in the party. If they try to get to their car from the main entrance, there’s a higher chance for Charles’ men to grab them. Besides, they wouldn’t attempt an attack with all these guests. 

“Moyo has seen us. I’ve given him a signal.” Robbe whispers as a drunk man, crashes into them trying to pull Robbe for a dance. 

Sander helps Robbe disentangle himself from the drunken man before they continued walking around the dance floor, keeping a watch for Charles’ men. 

As Sander discreetly looks around, he realises they’ve been found as an intimidating guard briskly marches toward them. He pulls on Robbe as they quicken their steps, evading drunk guests. 

“There’s around five men moving towards you.” Moyo’s voice sounds off in their ear cuff. 

“Is there a way to the car?” Robbe asks urgently. 

“There’s a way through the outdoor pool. You need to slip through the garden bushes.” Yasmina replies.

“How long till the authorities get here?” Sander asks as they push past a group of guests who do well enough to temporarily block the guards. 

“They’re just a few blocks away.” Yasmina reports. 

They soon reach the ballroom’s doors where the party extends to the outdoor pool. Outside, the party is more chaotic as entertainers hold a dance performance on a floating stage. 

As soon as they step through the doors, that’s where their luck runs out as a guard jumps and tries to capture Sander in a headlock. Sander quickly evades, holding tight onto Robbe’s hand as they start running to the pool area.

Sander could hear glasses breaking and people falling to the water as the guards relentlessly chase after them. “Fuck Sander. They’re starting to pull out the guns.” Robbe says. 

Just as the sound of the first siren comes, signalling the arrival of the police, one of the guards starts shooting at them. Guests start screaming and running in panic with one of them pushing at Robbe causing the younger to let go of Sander. 

Sander’s eyes widen as Robbe is pushed to the pool. The guard with the gun notices and starts shooting at the pool. 

Sander’s heart drops to his stomach as the pool starts to bleed red. He screams in anger, rushing towards the guard and stabbing him with the pen on his stomach. As the guard collapses, Sander immediately grabs the gun. He starts shooting at the other guards, targeting their legs so that they can momentarily be immobilised. 

“Sander!” A familiar voice shouts and Sander turns to find Robbe, holding a bleeding arm as he tries to get off the pool. Sander breathes in relief and he rushes to help Robbe out of the pool, careful to not aggravate the younger’s wound. He hugs Robbe tightly as the other collapses in his arms, taking deep and even breaths.

“I thought I lost you.” Sander whispers brokenly, kissing Robbe at the top of his head. 

“No, I’m here. I’m safe. You’re safe.” Robbe reassures softly, pressing closer to Sander.

“Robbe!” A feminine voice calls out and Sander and Robbe look up to find Zoë rushing towards them with a concerned expression. That’s when Sander noticed that the police had arrived at the scene, already arresting the guards.

“Are you hurt?” Zoë asks, kneeling next to them with questioning eyes.

Sander gently releases Robbe so that the other can show his bleeding arm to Zoë. “Yeah, I got shot.” Robbe replies with a watery smile.

Zoë nods, “Can you stand up? Or do we need to bring the stretcher.” 

“Yeah, I can.” Robbe confirms, slowly easing to stand up with Sander’s support. 

“Ok, there’s an ambulance at the front. I can lead you there.” Zoë says, pulling out a handkerchief to put pressure on Robbe’s wound.

“Ow, Zoë.” Robbe whines with a small pout.

“Great job on your first mission. Look, you even have a battle scar.” She teases with a giggle, flashing Sander a thankful smile as they escort Robbe to the ambulance. 

— 

Sander stands a few feet from the ambulance, observing from a distance as Zoë treats Robbe’s wound - _more like a sister rather than a doctor._ He smiles against the cellphone, listening halfheartedly to the person on the other side. 

“The authorities were able to get most of the gang heads, including Charles.” Mr Maes shares on the other side of the call.

Sander hums, “I thought you said the plan was just to get some dirt on the Muniers.” 

Mr Maes chuckles humorously. “Well, plans change. Plus, we didn’t think Charles would make it so easy.” 

“Were you able to get the evidence in his study?” Sander asks as he struggles to keep himself from smiling with Zoë poking at Robbe’s cheeks, obviously berating the man for something as he pouts. 

“Yes. Charles will be surely locked in. I reckon the rest of his family will just drop him and find a way to escape prosecution.” Mr Maes says. “Nevertheless, it’s still a big win for us because we can trace a lot of terrorists from the information we got.”

“That’s if they don’t get wind of tonight’s events. A bit hard to keep everything under the wraps with how many witnesses there are.” Sander says as Robbe smiles widely at him from the ambulance.

Sander smiles and waves back to Robbe’s obvious delight. “You’ll have to get to work fast then.” Mr Maes says thoughtfully. “Are you ready to pack your bags again?”

“Yeah, I don’t really have much of a choice, do I?” Sander asks rhetorically as he looks at Robbe gazing at him with a gentle smile. 

“You always have a choice, Sander.” Mr Maes says warmly. “You better tie loose ends before you leave. I think we can give you a day’s rest. We’ll send Noor and Britt after our leads for now.” 

Sander nods, even if the older man couldn’t see him. 

“Enjoy the rest of your evening. The night is still young.” Mr Maes says in closing.

Sander drops his hand to the side as he walks to Robbe who’s waiting for him, wrapped in a warm blanket. 

“What did he say?” Robbe curiously asks as Sander takes a seat next to him. 

“Well, I’ll have to run after tonight’s leads. Make sure we make the most out of our efforts tonight.” Sander explains nonchalantly, trying to keep his tone light and playful.

“Oh.” Robbe looks down. “I guess it’s time for me to retire as your partner, huh?” 

Sander scoffs. “What are you talking about? You should be ready to take the mantle anytime.” Sander says, a teasing smirk on his face. 

Robbe pushes lightly at Sander. “I’m not some sort of superhero.”

Sander laughs to the night, already starting to miss this banter with Robbe. “Did you have fun on your first mission?”

Robbe nods, a small smile playing on his face as he looks down on his swinging feet. “Couldn’t have asked for a better partner.” He says softly.

“Well, you were really amazing the whole time. _A real natural_.” Sander praises as he looks towards the dark sea.

“Anyway, let’s go back to the house.” Sander announces, standing up from the ambulance. “Don’t want you to catch a cold.”

“Sander, wait.” Robbe calls out, standing up as well. 

Sander hums, looking at Robbe in question, wondering if they missed anything.

“Aren’t you gonna ask me?” Robbe asks, looking straight into Sander’s eyes.

“Ask you what?” Sander asks, completely confused.

Robbe sighs loudly. “You’re so annoying. You never finish what you were going to say and now you act like you don’t know?” 

Sander blinks, bewildered at Robbe’s sudden change in attitude. “Are you okay? Is the anaesthesia affecting you?” He asks, moving to rub his hand on Robbe’s shoulder.

Robbe pouts before he looks around, causing Sander to look around. “Are we looking for any—“

For the first time in two days, Sander isn’t interrupted by someone barging into his conversation. This time, it’s Robbe who interrupts him by grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him to a wet, warm kiss. 

Sander’s eyes widen as his hands float by Robbe’s shoulder, completely caught off guard, when Robbe changes his angle to smile into the kiss. 

Before he can react, Robbe laughs to his mouth asking, “Aren’t you gonna kiss me back?” 

When Robbe tries to step backward, away from this kiss. Sander’s instinct kicks in and his hand moves up automatically to gently pull Robbe back for another kiss. The younger man slowly snakes his hands around Sander’s waist as the blonde starts to suck on Robbe’s upper lip. 

Sander gently pushes Robbe back so that the younger can sit back on the ambulance. Sander deepens the kiss as he and Robbe both smile against each other’s lips. 

Sander tentatively pulls back to look at Robbe’s languid expression. “Are you hungry?” Sander asks to which Robbe hums in affirmative. 

“Okay because I know a good kebab place just around the corner and we can go grab some.” Sander teases as Robbe giggles and pulls him for another kiss. 

In between kisses, Robbe mischievously asks, “Are you sure the agency won’t have your head if you take me to another kebab place?” 

(At the agency, Yasmina and Marcus do a discreet high-five after hearing Robbe and Sander finally get together. Yes, they were still eavesdropping through the ear cuffs long after the mission ended. The rest of the agency will be happy to hear about the recent advancement in Operation Sobbe.)

**Author's Note:**

> If you reached the end, thank you and I hope you enjoyed the story. Unfortunately, I don’t have much braincells to create a complicated villain so I ended up with Charles. I didn’t really envision this series to be the serious type, I’ll leave that to more experienced writers. 😊
> 
> Some notes:  
> 1\. The quote - Sanity is not statistical - is from George Orwell’s 1984.  
> 2\. In case, anyone’s confused about who Marcus is - he’s the shop keeper. I just couldn’t figure out to introduce him properly. 
> 
> Anyway, kudos and comments are much appreciated!


End file.
